QuakeIndex

Earthquake · reviewed by a seismologist

M 1.8ml

Earthquake near Barstow, CA

No earthquake was likely felt in Barstow in the 24 hours to 6:52 am PST (14:52 UTC). The last one was M 1.8, 3 km (2 mi) NNW, at 3:18 pm PDT on 17 July 2026, estimated intensity II (weak) in town; 1 felt report to USGS. Every earthquake near Barstow

This page: a magnitude 1.8 earthquake was recorded 6 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Barstow, CA, at 9:06 pm PST on 4 February 2023 (05:06 UTC), 9.7 km deep.

USGS: 6km SSE of Barstow, CA

41 km (25 mi) NNE of Apple Valley, CA · 108 km (67 mi) NNE of Riverside, CA

9:06 pm PST, Feb 4, 2023 · · 9.7 km deep · released about 16 lb of TNT

Every earthquake near Barstow Felt it? Tell USGS Check my area
10 km30 km60 km120 km N San Bernardino County 74 km
Distance rings around the epicentre, with the nearest towns at their true direction and later quakes as coloured dots. Not a shaking map — see the USGS ShakeMap for that.
When
9:06 pm PST on 4 February 2023 ()
Where
6 km (4 mi) south-southeast of Barstow, CA · earthquakes near Barstow
Magnitude
M 1.8 (ml)
Depth
9.7 km below the surface
Felt
no reports yet
Nearest
San Bernardino County, 74 km E
Nearest mapped fault
Mt. General fault, 4 km from its surface trace — near is not the same as on
Status
Reviewed by a seismologist

USGS · last changed by USGS · we first saw it 1375 days ago

This was a minor earthquake. Quakes this small are rarely felt and do not cause damage.

At this magnitude and depth, people at rest would likely notice it out to about 10 km (6 mi) from the epicentre. In Barstow, 6 km away, the estimate is intensity II (weak). Estimated from magnitude, depth and distance with the intensity equation USGS Did You Feel It? uses; felt reports, where there are any, are the measurement.

Likely felt in: Barstow 6 km, intensity II · Barstow Heights 6 km, intensity II. Estimated for each town centre; each link is that town's own record.

How big was it?

This earthquake released about 16 lb of TNT. Magnitude is logarithmic: each whole step up releases about 32 times more energy, so a magnitude 2.8 would have released about 32 times as much.

  1. Mineral, Virginia 2011 M 5.8 930,000× the energy of this one
  2. Magna, Utah 2020 M 5.7 660,000× the energy of this one
  3. Around the size people start to feel M 3.0 59× the energy of this one
  4. This earthquake M 1.8 about 16 lb of TNT

Energy from the Gutenberg–Richter relation (log10E = 1.5M + 4.8), rounded to two figures; bar length is magnitude, which is already a logarithm of energy. Magnitudes of past earthquakes from the USGS catalogue.

For this area

The largest earthquake within 50 km since 2016 was M 4.6 on 2020-01-25 — about 16,000 times the energy of this one.

Before 2016, the USGS record lists 4 earthquakes of M5 or more within 50 km:

  1. 6.5 The 1947 Manix, California Earthquake · 44 km ENE of this epicentre
  2. 5.3 20km ENE of Barstow, California · 21 km NE of this epicentre
  3. 5.1 46 km E of Barstow, California · 43 km E of this epicentre
  4. 5.0 27km S of Fort Irwin, CA · 31 km NE of this epicentre

Since 2016: the QuakeIndex catalogue (US, M1.5+), built from the USGS FDSN event service. Before 2016: USGS ComCat, M5+ from 1900. Distances are between epicentres. This is the record, not a forecast.

Where

Epicentre 34.8513, -116.9918. Map © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Nearby places

PlaceDistanceDirection from the epicentre
San Bernardino County, CA 74 km (46 mi) E earthquakes near San Bernardino County
Los Angeles County, CA 137 km (85 mi) WSW earthquakes near Los Angeles County

Places and coordinates from the US Census Bureau Gazetteer (2024). Distances are from the epicentre.

Aftershocks so far

43 earthquakes have been recorded within 50 km since this one.

  1. 1.7 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  2. 1.6 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  3. 1.6 16 km NNE of Barstow, CA
  4. 1.7 15 km NNE of Barstow, CA
  5. 2.3 16 km NNE of Barstow, CA
  6. 2.0 16 km NNE of Barstow, CA
  7. 1.6 15 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  8. 3.9 16 km NNE of Barstow, CA
  9. 2.9 34 km ENE of Boron, CA
  10. 1.5 7 km ESE of Barstow, CA
  11. 1.7 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  12. 1.6 16 km NNE of Apple Valley, CA
  13. 1.9 21 km NNE of Adelanto, CA
  14. 1.7 7 km NW of Barstow, CA
  15. 1.5 39 km ENE of Lucerne Valley, CA

Counted from the QuakeIndex database, which ingests the USGS feed every 30 seconds · as of . QuakeIndex does not forecast aftershocks. When USGS issues an operational aftershock forecast it appears on the USGS event page.

On USGS

QuakeIndex does not issue warnings. For earthquake early warning see ShakeAlert.